I was scheduled for an induction on Friday, December 28th, primarily because I tested + for strep, and since I am allergic to penicillin, I needed 2 doses of antibiotics 8 hours apart. We went to the hospital and started the first dose around 11:30 a.m. They were nice enough to do the IV as a hep-lock so that I was able to wander around after the initial dose. We spent the afternoon eating lunch at the cafeteria (the lady there didn’t believe I was a patient at first, since I was walking around in my normal clothes!), browsing the gift shop, playing cards, and watching TV. I also listened to the Easy First Stage track during the afternoon, hoping to make my contractions a little more consistant.
My MW arrived late in the afternoon, and she checked me for the first time at about 5:30 p.m. I was only dialated to 2 (from one the previous week), so she started a quarter of a pill of cytotec by mouth. That, along with walking, helped start some contractions, but nothing too exciting. At 7:30 p.m. I was due for my second dose of antibiotics, and my MW started pitocin when they re-started my IV. She upped the pit several times over the next couple hours…I was able to stay very relaxed for the first part by watching old episodes of the Office (I love that show!), and I think laughing during labor is a great thing!
About 9:30 the pit was causing a little bit stronger waves, so I put on my Easy First Stage track again and just relaxed. At 10, my MW checked and I was at 4, and we decided to go ahead and break my water. Things immediately picked up in intensity…I got up and went to the bathroom several times, and really felt like I preferred sitting on the toilet. Then I just wanted to stand beside the bed, and did that thru a few waves.
I threw up, and so even though I was getting extremely uncomfortable at this point, I knew I was in transition and the end was in sight! I sat down and just worked on relaxing thru a couple more waves, and then my MW asked me to lay back down on my side, as that position seemed to be helping things progress most. Very quickly after laying down I started feeling pushy, and she checked me quickly to find that I had just a little lip left. She held that back during one push, and within 2 contractions, Ryan Lee was out!
My husband did flip on the Pushing track for me, but I didn’t hear any of it – everything went way too fast! I watched the birth in a mirror this time, which I had never done before – how awesome! Daddy got to help catch Ryan, and so he let my mom cut the cord – everyone got to participate in this birth. Ryan was 8 lbs, 8 oz, and 20 inches long. I didn’t have any tears – yay!
Overall, despite way more interventions that I would have liked, we had a terrific birth experience. I was very proud to have made it through a cytotec/pitocin/AROM induction with no pain meds or epidural.
Hypnobabies was very helpful in keeping me relaxed right up to the end. The nurse even commented, “I don’t know what you were listening to, but it sure seemed to work!” and my MW mentioned what a great job I did of relaxing this time around. My husband was great at helping with that – we didn’t actually do “scripts” during the birth (I don’t think I could have focused on that), but he knew to just keep reminding me to relax, and he and my mom would rub my back and shoulders to keep me from tensing up.
Thanks Hypnobabies!
Bethany
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